Episode 335 - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

“Locksley! I'm going to cut your heart out with a spoon!” Join Ian, Liam, Kev & Debbie for our 335th episode as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). Grab your bow, avoid the Sheriff’s dinner invitations, and prepare for a film packed with accents of varying legality, spoon-based violence, and enough Alan Rickman scenery-chewing to feed Nottingham for a winter. Megs isn’t with us this week — she was scheduled to record, but unfortunately entered an archery tournament disguised as a peasant and is currently hiding from the Sheriff’s tax collectors. This week we discuss: Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood — movie star charisma, questionable accent, and whether audiences have ever really cared. Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham — one of cinema’s great villains. Does he completely hijack the film from everyone around him? Morgan Freeman’s Azeem — wisdom, dignity, and why he often feels like the smartest person in every scene. The 1991 blockbuster formula — action, romance, comedy, spectacle. Is this the perfect example of a film designed to entertain first and ask questions later? Ian explores the film’s historical accuracy — or more accurately, the complete lack of concern anyone involved seems to have had about it. Liam questions whether the film is secretly two films at once — a sincere Robin Hood adventure and a dark comedy starring Alan Rickman. Kev dives into the action sequences — archery, sword fights, castle assaults, and how well they hold up three and a half decades later. Debbie weighs in on the romance — does Robin and Marian’s relationship actually work, or is it simply required by law in a Robin Hood movie? The supporting cast — Michael Wincott, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, and one very famous cameo that audiences still cheer for. The accent debate — does Costner’s performance improve if you simply accept that nobody in this film comes from the same county, let alone country? The “show vs tell” balance — does the film earn its emotional moments, or rely on Bryan Adams to do the heavy lifting? The ending — triumphant, excessive, and unapologetically crowd-pleasing. Is this blockbuster filmmaking at its purest? And finally, whether Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the most entertaining adventure films of the 1990s. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are very thankful to the following Patreon backers for their generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/